The Status Quo Can Change
by GuardianOfTheFandoms
Summary: Clarke Griffin can't stand Lexa Woods. So it's just her luck that at the beginning of their junior year, both of their debate partners drop them and they have to work together. Featuring fine stud Lexa, constantly annoyed Clarke, and, as always, Raven prodding into sex lives. Clexa speech and debate AU!
1. Chapter One- Breaking the Ice

**(Hey friends so I usually write Life is Strange fanfiction but I decided to take a stab at the 100 universe bc Clarke and Lexa seem like the types that would be extremely successful in the debate world. Anyway the event they do in this is called Public Forum debate which coincidentally is the one form of debate I've never actually participated in, but policy is the bane of my existence and Lincoln Douglass (which I do) is a solo event so that was out. Anyyyyyway, I don't doubt that this is terrible because it was mostly written at 3 AM after multiple emotional breakdowns but whatever, it's not like I'm known to write actually good content. I hope that after this rather long, rather self deprecating author's note, I hope you decide to stay and not leave because of my self-hatred. Read on and enjoy!)**

Chapter One

If Clarke Griffin had to choose two words to describe Lexa Woods, they would be arrogant and insufferable. So it's just her luck that both of their debate partners dropped out and they have to partner up.

"But, Kane!"

"No, Clarke, no buts. Neither of you have a partner and our first tournament is in two weeks. You're both extremely good debaters, and, in my opinion, you will benefit from this partnership. Challenge yourselves."

"I'm wounded that you think so lowly of me, Griffin," Lexa sighs from where she's spinning lazily in a desk chair. She's wearing a smirk on her face as she raises an eyebrow at Clarke. "Will it really pain you that much? It's only temporary, only until after Icebreakers when we can find replacements."

"Yes, it will really pain me that much. Don't act like you're happy about this. I know you dislike me as much as I dislike you."

"And what gives you that impression, blondie? Just because I don't think you hung the moon and the stars? Sorry 'bout that."

"Ladies," Kane says, his tone weary as he looks between the two girls, one flushed and angry, one smirking and calm. "May I remind you that I am your coach? Once again, I think this will be good for you two, who happen to be the best debaters on the team. And, as Ms. Woods says, this is temporary. You two had better find a way to get along before you're both off of the team."

Lexa stands up, shooting Kane a polite smile. "Absolutely, coach. Clarke, I'm sure we can make this work for a couple of weeks. How about we get started on our cases tomorrow? We can both read through the briefs tonight and brainstorm ideas during practice tomorrow."

"Fine," Clarke says, also standing. She glares at Lexa, who just grabs her backpack from the floor by her chair, brushing past Clarke.

"Tomorrow, blondie. Be ready!"

—

"I don't understand why you're so against this partnership, Griff. Don't you have, like, a giant lady boner for Woods anyway?"

"No, Raven! She's a dick. You have met her before, right?"

"Okay, she may be a bit... reserved," Raven admits, glancing up from her laptop screen. "But she is hot as hell. And she's a goddamn good debater."

Clarke narrows her eyes at Raven. They're sitting in the library during their lunch period, Raven finishing up a slideshow presentation for her English class. "Don't let your girlfriend hear you say that, Ray. God, why can't anyway just let me insult Woods without talking about how great she is?"

"Octavia thinks she's hot too, man. Anyway, I don't understand this whole hatred thing you got going on with her. When did she piss in your Cheerios?"

"She's just... Ugh! I can't stand her!"

"Mm. Okay, I think I see the problem here." Raven nods, tapping away on her keyboard. "You don't want to admit that you have a giant crush on Woods so you tell yourself that you hate her. Really, though, you wanna jump her bones."

"You're being the exact opposite of helpful right now. I don't even like Lexa as a friend, much less romantically."

"Mmhm. Keep telling yourself that."

"You don't understand. This is going to be hell. Partners are supposed to be able to work well together. We can't work well together if I want to punch her every time I see her stupid face."

"Dude, you're being super dramatic. It'll be fine."

"You do speech. You can't understand how hard this partnership will be."

"Whatever you say, drama queen."

Clarke lets out a frustrated groan, leaning her forehead against the cool table. She was resigned to pout in that position until Raven's voice interrupted.

"Well, speak of the devil. A sexy devil, but a devil nonetheless. Hey, Woods!"

At that, Clarke's head snaps up and she fixes Raven with a glare. "What are you doing? She's coming over here now!" Clarke hisses, looking over at the brunette, who is now approaching their table.

"Sup, Reyes? Hey, blondie. You ready to brainstorm after school?"

"Oh, she's ready," Raven interjects. "She was just telling me all about her ideas. Clarke's super excited to have you as a partner."

"Raven!"

Lexa's stupid, gorgeous face seems amused as she looks between the two friends. "I'm so glad to hear that. Griffin, I'm excited too."

"Excited to make my life a living hell," Clarke retorts, although under her breath.

"Anyway, great to see the both of you. Raven, I wanna see you perform your interp piece soon. You always pick hilarious pieces."

"Course, Woods. See you soon."

Once Lexa is gone Clarke narrows her eyes at her best friend, who has turned her attention back to her laptop.

"I can't believe you."

"I give it... two months before the two of you start fucking."

"Raven!"

—

Clarke slowly makes her way to the debate room after school, finding as many small things to distract her as she can.

First, she stops to ask Monty if he remembered what he got on number four on today's calculus quiz. It killed maybe three minutes.

Next, she stops to talk to Octavia, who just teases her about her new partnership with Lexa. So that didn't really help at all.

Finally, she makes it to the debate room and enters with a groan.

Lexa is already sitting at a computer, tapping away. Her glasses are on, although they're slipping down her nose as she looks down at the keyboard.

Coach Kane greets her with a nod. Clarke waves, reluctantly going to sit down by Lexa. The brunette finishes what she was typing before looking up at Clarke, smirk firmly in place.

"Hello, Clarke. How was your day?"

"Fine. Are you ready to start?" Clarke signs into the computer before grabbing her flash drive from her backpack.

"Absolutely. You seem rather eager."

"Yeah, the sooner we can start the better."

Lexa quickly switches into work mode as she looks back at her computer. "So I was hoping that we could discuss the pro side of the resolution first. Reading through the briefs last night wasn't really informative, but I did come up with a few ideas of my own... here, look over those." Her smirk is gone as she pushes a notebook full of neat handwriting towards Clarke.

Clarke reads through the notes, nodding at some parts and frowning at others.

"I thought about that first idea too, but I think that it's too weak. I don't like it," Clarke comments.

Lexa nods in agreement, scooting her chair closer to Clarke's. She slides the notebook closer, crossing the first idea out.

"Although, I do think the second thing is going in the right direction. I disagree with this," she says, pointing at one particular section. "But other than that, it seems relatively solid."

"Okay," Lexa murmurs, striking out the section that Clarke indicated. "It has room for improvement. I'm not completely pleased with it, but it's far ahead everything else. I would suggest that we look for evidence against this first idea. If we both thought about it, we won't be the only ones. It'll be good to be prepared to argue against that."

Clarke pulls up her own notes, typed onto the computer instead of longhand like Lexa's. "I agree. Here, look at this..."

An hour and a half flies by as the girls, engrossed in their own little world, discuss ideas and begin working on their pro case.

Lexa sits back after about another thirty minutes, removing her glasses to rub at her eyes.

"That was good, Griff. Have I convinced you that I'm not a total asshole yet? Still don't know why you think that," Lexa says, muttering the last part under her breath.

"You're okay when you're working and not being totally annoying."

"Thank you. Nicest thing you've ever said to me," Lexa grins, putting her glasses back on. "As much as I would love to continue this, I have to pick my little brother up from soccer practice. Will you be up here tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'm here every day after school. Well, sometimes I skip Fridays."

Lexa stands after powering her computer down. "I know. Just checking. We have been in this same room together every weekday for two years now. Going on our third."

Clarke nods, ejecting her flash drive and powering her own computer down. "Yeah. See you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah. Don't forget about looking for evidence tonight. If you have time, I mean."

"I won't. Bye, Lexa." The taller girl slings her backpack onto her shoulder, walking towards the door.

"See ya, Clarke. Bye, Kane."

Kane waves at her, distracted by helping another debater work on something.

Okay, so maybe Lexa Woods isn't _as_ terrible as Clarke first thought. Maybe they can get through this tournament together.

—

The next few days are spent writing rough cases and compiling evidence. Next week, Tuesday afternoon, they have a practice debate scheduled with Zoe and Harper.

"Okay, so you good to read the case?" Lexa asks as they sit at their table, their con case and a pile of evidence sitting in front of them, along with legal pads to copy the flow of the debate.

"What? No, you're speaking first," Clarke says, furrowing her eyebrows.

"No I'm not. You are."

"Um, no I am not. Reading the case is the easiest speech. I don't want to do that."

"Well, neither do I."

"One of us has to, Lexa."

"And it won't be me," she retorts. The girls sit facing each other, matching glares on their faces. Clarke crosses her arms across her chest, committing herself to this staring contest.

"You just don't trust me to give the rebuttal."

"It's not about that."

"Girls!" Kane calls, causing the two to look away from each other and up at Kane. "It doesn't matter. Lexa can speak first on pro and Clarke can speak first on con. Okay?" The girls don't answer, instead throwing more glares. Kane lowers his voice, repeating himself. "Is that okay, Clarke? Lexa?"

They both sigh, breaking their eye contact again.

"Yeah. Fine."

"Sure," Clarke says, not without sending Lexa another quick glare. So, maybe everything Clarke still despises Woods just a bit.

A moment later, Zoe and Harper walk into the room, laughing about something together.

They sit across from Clarke and Lexa, getting everything they need for the practice from their backpacks.

"Do you have your timer?" Clarke asks, still refusing to look Lexa in the eye.

"Yeah," Lexa replies, leaning to the side to grab it from her bag. She hands it to Clarke once she's found it, their fingers brushing gently.

Clarke promptly retracts her hand, hoping that her blush isn't too noticeable. Lexa's hands are soft and warm, which Clarke has discovered after a week of accidental touches as they were working together.

"Okay, so you guys are going con, right?" Harper asks. Lexa and Clarke both nod. "Awesome. Coin flip to see which side goes first?"

"Yeah. Kane, you got a coin?" Lexa asks, looking at their coach, who is sitting across from the two teams, ready to flow the debate and give advice to both sides.

Kane fishes a coin from his pocket. "Call it." Clarke calls tails as Kane flips the coin. "Heads. Pro goes first."

The debate goes smoothly despite Clarke and Lexa's spat before. They work well together and work off of each other's speeches and questions nicely.

Zoe and Harper's attacks on their case help to reveal weaknesses, which they agree to work on tomorrow during practice. They schedule another practice debate for Thursday.

"Hey, I'm... I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's fine, Clarke. I kinda yelled at you too."

"It's okay. Here's your timer back." Clarke holds it out. Lexa takes it, nodding as a thanks.

"Okay. I have to go pick Aden up. I'll see you tomorrow?" For one of the first times that afternoon after their glaring match, green eyes meet blue.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

—

They focus on debate work, almost never talking about anything personal except for when Lexa mentions that she's picking up her little brother.

That's fine with Clarke. Lexa still annoys her whenever they're not working. Something about her just gets on Clarke's nerves.

All too soon, their first tournament approaches and the speech and debate kids are gathering outside of the school at six in the morning, waiting for the bus.

They huddle in groups, most of them holding coffee or hot tea to help fight the October chill off. Icebreakers is always a one-day tournament, so they have to arrive already wearing their competition clothes. Which means that Clarke is shivering in her navy blue dress, waiting for Lexa to get to the school.

Finally, a car pulls up and Lexa steps out, calling a goodbye to the man in the driver's seat.

Lexa hurries over to Clarke, holding two paper cups in her hand. "Hey. You look cold."

"Yeah, I'm cold. It's thirty fucking degrees out." Clarke looks her partner up and down, although she already knows what Lexa will be wearing. A white button up with a black jacket and pants, complete with black heels.

"Which is why I got this for you. It's how you like it." Lexa hands one of the paper cups over. Clarke sips at it, sighing happily when the coffee hits her tongue.

"Thanks. This is great."

"You're welcome. Hey, could you braid my hair before we get there?"

Clarke had noticed that Lexa's hair was out of her usual intricate braids, hanging loose and curly around her shoulders.

"Yeah. You look nice, by the way."

"You do too. Here, take this. You're going to freeze your ass off," Lexa says as she unbuttons her suit jacket and shrugs out of it.

Clarke shakes her head as Lexa holds the jacket out. "No, no, that's fine. I'm fine."

"Clarke," Lexa says, her tone almost warning.

"Fine." She takes the jacket, hanging Lexa the coffee to hold as she puts it on. The jacket is warm, and as much as Clarke would hate to admit it, smells great. It smells like vanilla shampoo and the coffee that Lexa had gotten for her. (Clarke knew that Lexa would be drinking tea. You do pick some things up about a person after two years, even if you try to avoid talking to that person as much as possible.)

Lexa hands the coffee back, nodding happily. "Good. Are you nervous?"

"Not really. Excited, more like. Excited for the season to start and to see how we work together in an actual debate."

"Yeah, me too. Oh thank god, the bus is finally here."

Everyone climbs onto the bus, claiming their seats. Clarke and Lexa sit next to each other without even thinking about it. They're both so used to sitting next to their partners that they don't even consider the fact that it's a two hour long bus ride and Clarke might bite Lexa's head off.

They're silent for the first hour or so, both staring down at their phones and ignoring each other. Eventually, though, Lexa clears her throat.

She starts speaking hesitantly, her tone shy. "Could you... um..."

"Your hair?" Lexa nods. "'Course. Turn around." Lexa does as ordered, turning so her back is facing Clarke. Clarke slowly, gently runs her fingers through Lexa's brown curls. "Your hair is so soft," she mutters, not even registering that she's said it.

As Clarke brushes Lexa's hair away from her shoulders, she sees the tips of Lexa's ears, which have turned bright red.

"You're blushing."

"Uh... it would seem that way."

Clarke smiles slightly, beginning to braid small strands of Lexa's hair into something that she hopes looks like her usual intricate pattern.

Lexa's eyes had fallen closed and she was humming softly, contented, as Clarke did her hair with gentle hands.

She's almost disappointed when she feels Clarke's hands pull away and she announces that she's done.

Lexa runs a hand down her hair, softly feeling the braids and nodding in approval. "Thank you."

"No problem. You gotta look fierce and terrify our opponents into submission anyway."

"You think I look fierce?"

"Well, you get this look on your face... I can't wait to see what your annoyed face looks like during a real debate, not just a practice one."

Lexa scoffs, trying not to smile. "I don't have an annoyed face, Griffin. You have an annoyed face, though. It's the only face I ever see from you."

"Probably because you annoy the shit out of me, Woods. You act so cocky and arrogant."

"You love it when I'm cocky and arrogant, you just don't want to admit it."

Clarke scoffs this time, lightly punching Lexa's shoulder. "There we go, being cocky again. I don't love it, for the record. It's why I can't stand you."

"I dunno, you seem to have warmed up to me these past few weeks. You don't glare daggers every time we talk. Just most times."

"I only like you when we're focused on work. Then you say stuff that isn't totally stupid and annoying. You're actually smart when you're not being so full of yourself."

"Wow, now you're calling me self-centered? I can't help that I'm devastatingly beautiful, Clarke. I think you just need to accept it."

 _Well, she definitely has the devastatingly beautiful thing right. Wait, Clarke, no! Stop that. Lexa Woods is not beautiful. She's a dick._

"I know you're beautiful. You don't have to show off about it, though."

 _Goddamnit, Clarke. That was the exact wrong thing to say, you idiot!_

Lexa places her hand on Clarke's forearm, dragging her fingers up and down the skin slowly and softly. "For the record, you're pretty beautiful too."

Clarke's pretty sure that her brain short-circuits. Between Lexa's hand on her arm and the compliment, Clarke flushes and the English language fails her.

"Uh... I, uh... thank you."

"Of course, Griffin. I speak nothing but the truth."

"Right." Clarke nods, turning to look out the bus window, hoping that she would be able to gather herself and keep from totally embarrassing herself.

That's apparently not an option. Lexa had removed her hand from Clarke's arm, but soon she places it low on her thigh.

"Clarke, did you get the chemistry assignment? I forgot to ask Sinclair for it." Clarke nods, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. She grabs her bag, searching through it for her chemistry binder. All the while, Lexa's fingers are tracing soft patterns on her thigh, her hand slowly moving upwards.

She finally finds it, practically shoving it at Lexa. "It's written on the first page."

"Thank you, Clarke." Lexa retrieves her hand, flipping the binder open. She copies down the assignment into her own binder before returning Clarke's back to her.

And, of course, their fingers brush together. Lexa pulls her hand back oh so slowly, although it lingers for longer than would be considered appropriate.

 _She knows exactly what she's doing, that asshole,_ Clarke thinks as she watches Lexa smirk, looking entirely too pleased with herself. Clarke can only imagine how red her face must be.

The entire bus ride is complete torture. Every twenty minutes or so Lexa finds something else to ask Clarke about, each time with lingering touches.

Clarke is flooded with relief when their head coach, Jaha, stands and announces that they'll be stopping for lunch in about five minutes.

They stop at the restaurant and the team piles out of the bus. The coaches had reservations for the team, so hopefully it would go semi-smoothly. (It never does. But, hey, no one wants to deal with a ton of grumpy, hungry teenagers.)

Soon they're seated, Octavia and Raven sitting with Clarke and Lexa. Oh, of course they're seated in a booth. And of course Lexa sits right next to Clarke, her hand resting on Clarke's knee.

The other three girls joke around with each other, laughing easily and often.

"Are you alright, Clarke? You look a bit red. Do you have a fever?" Octavia asks, looking truly concerned.

Lexa removes her hand from Clarke's knee and lifts it to rest against her forehead. "Hmm... she feels kinda hot. You need to go to the bathroom to splash some cold water on your face, Griff?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll go do that," Clarke says as she slides out of the booth. "I'll be back in just a few minutes."

Clarke retreats to the bathroom, splashing water on her face as suggested. She's drying her face off as she hears the bathroom door open and the telltale click of heels against tile.

"Lexa."

"You okay, Clarke?" Her voice is gentle, a slight tinge of concern in her tone. "If you want me to stop just say the word and I will."

Clarke turns around to face Lexa, shaking her head. "I'm okay. I do know exactly what you're doing, though."

"And is it unwelcome?"

"Not entirely." Clarke walks away from the counter, towards her partner. She places her hands on her shoulders, smoothing down the fabric of her shirt. "You do look really good in this shirt, Lex."

Clarke trails one finger slowly down the front of Lexa's body, smirking as Lexa's eyes grow wider. Clarke reaches the waistband of Lexa's pants, where the shirt is neatly tucked in. She traces her finger along the waistband before pressing her hand flat against Lexa's stomach.

"I'm feeling better now. I'll see you back at the table, hmm?"

Lexa nods, slightly dumbfounded. Clarke smirks at the taller girl before pulling away and walking out of the bathroom.

Lexa stares after her, reminding herself to act like nothing happened as she finally walks out of the bathroom.

—

Hands may... wander slightly underneath the table. This time it's Clarke's hand resting on Lexa's thigh. She slowly drags her fingers up and down Lexa's long legs as they order and wait for their lunch.

Lexa seems thoroughly frustrated as she flips Clarke's hand over, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together.

Octavia and Raven don't seem to notice anything, which is fortunate, because Clarke doesn't think she'd be able to handle the teasing.

Lexa let's Clarke's hand go when their food arrives. The four girls eat in relative silence.

Soon they're back on the bus, headed towards the high school. Clarke and Lexa are quickly looking over their cases together.

The list that'll tell them their speaker code is being passed around. It's handed to Clarke and Lexa, and Lexa takes it to look for their names.

Finding them, she uncaps her pen and gently takes Clarke's hand in hers. She pushes back the sleeve of her jacket, which Clarke is still wearing, and gently writes their speaker codes on her wrist, with a little L next to hers and a C next to Clarke's.

Lexa pulls the sleeve back down, capping her pen before passing the list behind them.

Kane stands up as they pull up to the high school. "Okay, rounds will already be posted. You need to get inside, find the postings, and get to your room. Is everyone ready?"

There's a ripple of positive replies to that. Clarke and Lexa share a glance and nod at each other.

"We're gonna crush it, Griff."

Clarke nods in agreement, smiling at her partner. She's honestly excited to see how they'll really work together, even if it is only temporary.

"Alright, team. Let's go win some awards!" Jaha exclaims, causing the kids to erupt in cheers. Seems like Clarke isn't the only one who's excited.

"You got your bag, Lex? Okay, great, let's go."

The girls stands and shuffle off of the bus with the rest of the team. They walk inside of the school and look for the giant crowd of kids, because that's where the postings will no doubt be.

Clarke and Lexa fight their way through the crowd and find the Public Forum postings. "Okay," Lexa murmurs, searching the page for their codes. "SS-126 and SS-127 in room 114, which should be…. Over this way."

Lexa grabs Clarke's hand and leads her through the crowd to where she thinks their room should be.

She's right, thank god, and they wait outside of the room for their opponents and the judge to show up. They don't have to wait for very long, though, as a boy and a girl approach and stand on the other side of the door.

They both look cold and rather pissed off, although they are dressed extremely well. The boy is tall, with long brown hair and a sneer on his face. Lexa recognizes the girl as Ontari, notorious asshole yet a very effective debater.

"Shit, Griff, they're Azgeda."

Azgeda, the resident pompous assholes of the state. They're closed off, only interacting with members of their own team, unlike everyone else, who socialize with the other teams and make new friends. Ruthless debaters, they almost always win first in every single event. It's the same with the speech kids.

"Goddamnit. Whatever, we'll be okay. We're going to do great."

Lexa nods, although she doesn't look convinced.

"I promise, Woods. We are going to crush them, Azgeda or not." They're speaking in whispers, causing them to lean close into each other to hear the words. "By the way… here's your jacket back."

Clarke starts to take the suit jacket off, only to be stopped by Lexa, who pushes it back onto Clarke's shoulders.

"No… keep it on. You look good, Griff."

"Alright, stop flirting with me in front of our opponents."

Lexa laughs, taking a small step back from Clarke. "Whatever you say, blondie."

Clarke smiles, shaking her head at Lexa. Lexa steps closer again, although this time they discuss what side they'll choose if they win the coin toss.

"Our con case is stronger, so it'll be easier to destroy these jokers. Would you be okay with that?" Lexa asks, reaching out to grab one of Clarke's hand with her own.

"I agree. Have you debated these guys before?"

Lexa nods. "They're rough. They work together flawlessly and they're Azgeda so they're not afraid to take risks and be assholes. We're better though, Clarke."

"I'm nervous. This is our first official debate together and we get Azgeda kids."

Lexa squeezes her partner's hand gently. "Clarke, if you're not nervous, there's something wrong with you. It's okay to be nervous, just turn that nervous energy into confidence. We are going to get into this round and we are going to be fine. Even if we lose, this is just Icebreakers. We have all season to improve."

"Right. Okay. Thank you, Lex."

"Of course. Hey, this must be our judge." They each take a small step away from each other as a tall, bald man approaches.

He doesn't say anything, just opens the door and walks inside, barely glancing at the four teenagers.

The Azgeda team goes in first, then Clarke and Lexa. Clarke and the Azgeda boy both prep their work spaces, pushing two desks together. The boy pulls a desk in-between the two makeshift tables to serve as a podium.

Lexa writes their names and their respective speaker codes on the whiteboard before sitting next to Clarke. She had their binder of evidence and two copies of both cases pulled out.

The judge finally speaks, after having settled at a desk of his own. "We decide who goes first with a coin toss, correct?"

Ontari answers him. "Yes, the winner either chooses which side to present or whether they want to speak first or second."

He nods, pulling a wallet out of his pants pocket. He retrieves a quarter and looks over the four of them before pointing at Lexa. "You, call it."

Lexa glances at Clarke, who shrugs. "Tails," she decides, looking back to the judge as he flips the coin. It lands on the desk and he announces that it's heads, so the other team gets to choose.

Thankfully, they choose to go pro, which leaves Clarke and Lexa's plan intact. Lexa chooses that the con side will speak first.

Lexa rubs Clarke's thigh gently before she stands with the case and the timer. The touch, unlike the others that had occurred that day, wasn't teasing, but reassuring.

Clarke stands at the desk, setting the timer. "My name is Clarke, speaker code SS-126. I have four minutes on my timer, if my judge is ready? My opponents?" She waits for nods from the judge and her opponents. "Okay. I will start… now."

—

"You did a great job," Lexa says, an extremely fake smile plastered across her face as she shakes hands with Roan and Ontari. They say similar pleasantries, also shaking Clarke's hand.

They each shake the judge's hand, who assures them that it was a pleasure to watch them debate.

Clarke gathers up all of their stuff, waiting by the door for Lexa. She joins Clarke a moment later and they walk out together.

Once they're sure that they're out of earshot, Lexa groans. "I hate them. I hate them both. I swear to god that fucking Man Bun didn't listen to a single goddamn word that I said. Yes, I did address your fucking attacks, no, I did not drop them."

"I know, right? And they were total assholes during crossfire. That's what I expected though, fucking Azgeda."

They walk back towards the cafeteria, where all the teams will be gathered. They complain about their debate until they find the table that the Polis kids had claimed.

They sit down at the table, which is still mostly empty as quite a few of their other teammates are still at rounds.

"We did good, though. You handled the crossfire questions really well. Man Bun seemed frustrated when you didn't answer the way he wanted you too."

"Thanks, Griff. You did really well too. I'm proud of us."

"I'm proud of us too. Are you gonna actually work on your homework or just screw around the entire tournament?"

Lexa laughs lightly, shrugging. "Probably screw around, but if you want to work on the assignments we both have, we could do that."

Clarke pretends to contemplate for a moment before answering. "Nah, homework is meant to be ignored. Do you want some pop tarts?"

Lexa raises one eyebrow at Clarke. "Have you been keeping pop tarts in our bag? You know, the one with all of our evidence and our cases and everything?"

She grabs the bag from the table and digs around in it until she finds her pop tarts. "Yes. They're strawberry."

The brunette stares at her partner for a long moment before sighing. "You know what? I would love a pop tart."

Grinning, Clarke opens the wrapper and hands one of the pop tarts to Lexa.

They sit quietly, eating their pastries. Lexa breaks hers into smaller pieces while Clarke just bites into it.

"Hey, Griff, look. It's baby Trump."

"I still don't understand what he did to deserve that nickname. Hayden's a nice dude."

They look a few tables away to where a short, blonde boy sits. He's talking to a teammate animatedly, making wild hand gestures.

"His hair, mostly. He also hates Trump, like, a lot, so it amuses us."

Clarke rolls her eyes. "Alrighty. How long do you think it'll be before they post? I'm already impatient."

"You've been to tournaments before. You know it's going to get disastrously off of schedule and we'll have to wait another two hours just for them to tabulate the results. So we might have to wait a while."

The blonde leans forward, her forehead resting on the table. She groans, sounding utterly annoyed. "But I'm bored."

"What, my company isn't good enough for you? I know I annoy you, but wow. You're rather impatient, Clarke."

She doesn't reply, choosing instead to close her eyes. Lexa places her hand low on Clarke's back, rubbing gently.

Clarke sighs, scooting just a bit closer to her partner on the bench. Clarke wraps her arm around Clarke's waist, pressing her hand softly into Clarke's stomach.

So, maybe Clarke is slightly less bored. Just slightly. She lifts her head to look at Lexa, whose expression is amused.

"Still bored, Lex."

Lexa leans close to Clarke, whispering to her. "Well, we should see if we can fix that, hmm?" Her lips gently brush against Clarke's ear as she speaks.

"That is a terrific idea. How much time do you think we actually have?"

"Most of the rounds aren't even over yet. I'd give it another… thirty minutes for everything to finish, another hour for them to tab everything."

"Yeah, that'll be enough time." Clarke grabs their bag, stowing it underneath the table. She stands, grabbing Lexa's hand and pulling her out of the cafeteria.

Clarke drags Lexa to the stairs and they start climbing to the higher floors, where, hopefully, less people are hanging around.

"Jesus Christ, Clarke, why do we need to go all the way to the fucking fifth floor? What kind of a school has five floors?"

"It'll be quieter up there," Clarke replies, trying not to sound like she's completely out of breath. They take a break on the third floor, where they can hear a lot of yelling from a classroom.

"Must be dramatic interp," Lexa says. She's probably right, since the yelling is punctuated with loud fake sobbing and… just plain screaming. Dramatic interp really lives up to its name.

They continue on up the stairs of hell after having caught their breaths.

Once on the fifth floor, they find everything to be quiet and dark.

"So, are we breaking into a classroom?" Lexa asks, slightly out of breath yet again.

"Eh, it's not breaking in if the classroom is already open. They're probably all open just in case they're needed."

Lexa nods, pulling Clarke to the nearest classroom. They check the door, silently celebrating when it opens easily.

Clarke pulls Lexa inside, kicking the door shut.

They spend a long moment staring at each other before Lexa pulls Clarke close to her, placing her hands on Clarke's hips.

She turns so Clarke's back is to the door, slowly walking her backwards to press her against the door.

They stare into each other's eyes, Clarke slowly lifting her arms to drape them around Lexa's shoulders. She locks her hands together and rests them against the back of Lexa's neck.

Clarke grins, pulling Lexa closer. Their bodies are pressed together, their lips mere inches apart.

Lexa giggles. Actually giggles, which makes Clarke giggle.

"God, I cannot believe you just made that noise. A giggle from Lexa Woods? I think the world is ending."

"Oh, shut up, Griff." Their giggles slowly subside, but they're both grinning and the laughter is still dancing in their eyes.

"Hmm, I could do that. If you make me."

And then Lexa's lips are pressing against Clarke's, insistent and firm, but her lips are _so soft_ and Clarke melts against Lexa.

They kiss for what seems to be an eternity before one of them finally pulls back for air. They are again staring at each other, slow smiles forming on both of their lips.

And when Lexa's eyes flick down to Clarke's lips again, Clarke slowly slides one hand down Lexa's back until she finds the small of it.

She pulls Lexa back into her, their lips meeting again and again and they can't possibly get enough of each other.

Lexa pushes the jacket off of Clarke's shoulders gently, wanting to get closer to the shorter girl.

Clarke rests a hand on the side of Lexa's neck, running her fingers lightly over the smooth skin.

Lexa pulls away from Clarke's lips, not before giving her bottom lip a quick nip.

Yet again, Lexa is backing Clarke up, this time towards the table in front of them. Once there, Lexa quickly lifts her partner up, setting her on the tabletop. Clarke wraps her legs around Lexa's waist to pull her closer.

Blue meets green and they both see desire and, perhaps more surprisingly, affection. Lexa brushes a strand of hair behind the blonde's ear, her touch feather light.

"I thought you hated me."

"The status quo can change. Although, you are annoying."

"And why do you think that?"

Clarke hesitates for a moment, looking down at the ground to avoid Lexa's eyes. "You've always been better than me at everything. And… sometimes I just feel like I'll never be as good as you no matter how hard I work. And it annoys me."

Lexa gently lifts Clarke's chin so she has to look her in the eyes. "Clarke, no. That's not true. I've always admired how hard you work and I've always known how great you are. Clarke, look at me. I'm telling the truth, I promise you."

"Really?"

"Of course. Besides, we're working together now. We can help each other be better than we already are. We can also do… other things with each other." Lexa slowly runs her thumb over Clarke's lower lip.

Clarke closes her eyes and leans into Lexa. "Like the other things that we were doing just a moment ago?" She murmurs against Lexa's finger.

"Oh, Clarke, that was just a sample of the other things."

"I think I can work with that. Maybe this partnership shouldn't be so temporary."

She receives a firm kiss as an answer.

Clarke pulls away just a few centimeters to whisper to Lexa. "You taste like pop tarts." Lexa shuts her up with another kiss.

—

Lexa's shirt is unbuttoned and untucked when a sudden buzzing startles the two apart.

"Christ, Lex, your leg is buzzing."

She pulls her phone, which is the source of the buzzing, from her pants pocket. She quickly reads something, trying to smooth her hair down with her other hand.

 **Reyes (5:37 PM)- Where r you and blondie? Dude, they're posting in like five minutes.**

"Shit," she murmurs, shoving her phone back into her pocket.

"Lex? What's wrong?"

"We lost track of time. They're posting in five minutes, according to Raven. We gotta go."

Clarke hops off of the table, reaching out to button Lexa's shirt. Lexa tucks it in as Clarke retrieves her stolen jacket from the floor, pulling it on.

"My phone is in our bag. She's going to be pissed that I didn't see anything she sent me."

"Probably. Fix your hair, babe."

Clarke pauses for a moment at the pet name, a grin spreading across her face. Lexa is too busy straightening her clothes and fixing her own hair to notice.

She smooths her blonde hair down, which had gotten a bit messy from their… activities.

Lexa strides towards the door, grabbing Clarke's hand along the way. They leave the classroom and hurry down the stairs, which thankfully doesn't take as long as going up them did.

"You go grab our bag, I'm gonna go see if they've posted for PF yet," Lexa says, finally releasing Clarke's hand from her grip.

Clarke walks to the cafeteria, praying that she wouldn't run into Raven along the way.

She's not that lucky, because of course she isn't.

Raven is standing at the Polis table, her arms crossed and an impatient expression on her face. Clarke smiles sheepishly as she reaches under the table to grab their bag.

"So, Clarke, where were you and Woods?"

"Oh, you know, just exploring the school a bit. We let time get away from us. I didn't have my phone."

At that moment, Lexa comes up to Clarke, speaking quickly. "Okay, so I got our room number. We have a little bit before it starts though- oh, hi Raven."

"Lexa," Raven nods at her, doing a quick once over of the brunette. She apparently finds something she disapproves of, as she raises one eyebrow. "I think you guys may have been exploring more than just the school. Lexa, your shirt is buttoned wrong."

"Clarke!" She hisses, quickly unbuttoning her shirt and buttoning it correctly.

"I'm sorry! I was hurrying," she whispers back, although none of it escapes Raven.

"Mhm. That's exactly what I thought. Octavia and I have a bet, so I need to know if you screwed."

"No! Oh my god, Raven, we're leaving. We can discuss this later," Clarke says, her face growing red. "Lexa, we're leaving."

"Okay. Um, babe, it's the other way," she says as Clarke pulls her in a random direction. Clarke changes course and pulls them the other way.

—

Two debates later, Clarke and Lexa are sitting at the Polis table across from Raven. They look everywhere but at Raven, who forced them to sit down to explain themselves.

"So. What's going on… here?" She waves a hand between the two girls.

"Well, I, um… I don't really know?" Lexa starts.

"Good job, Lex. Very eloquent." Clarke sighs, reaching out to take Lexa's hand to assure her that she's not actually upset. "Look, I don't know what this is exactly, because it's an extremely new development."

"I thought you hated her."

"Well… not really. I mean, she is super hot."

"Told you."

"Yes, you did. Point is, this is new and kind of unexpected but I also kinda really like it."

Raven nods, turning her gaze onto Lexa. "You."

"Me?"

"Yes, Woods, you. I swear to all that is good and holy, I will harm you if you screw this up." A grin slowly grows on her face. "Not 'cause Griff is my best friend, just 'cause you two make a really fucking hot couple. I'll leave you gal pals to your homework or whatever the hell this is."

She stands and strides away, out of sight.

"Well, that certainly was interesting," Lexa remarks, fiddling with the edge of her chemistry book. "Do you… want to, like, label this? Whatever this is that we're doing?"

"Maybe not just right now. We have time to do that. For now, we're just… partners. We are partners."

"Right. I can roll with that. We will talk about this in the future, though. I kinda like this. And you."

"I completely agree, partner."

"Don't start talking in a southern accent now."

"No promises, Lex."

—

They're both tired and annoyed by the end of their fifth round. During normal tournaments, which are held for two days, they have three rounds the first day and a guaranteed two the next day, along with the various finals rounds.

But, of course, Icebreakers is held on one day, so they have to pack five preliminary rounds and four out rounds into one day. And it is hell.

They're both sitting at their table, although Clarke is slumped against Lexa and is almost asleep.

She's startled out of her light rest when somebody shouts 'postings' as loud as they possibly can.

"Oh, fuck me," she grumbles, lifting her head off of Lexa's shoulder. Lexa refrains from making some snarky comment at that. "Is it bad of me to hope that we didn't break so we don't have to go to anymore goddamn rounds?"

"No, because I'm hoping the same thing. I forgot that Icebreakers feels like the seventh circle of hell."

They make their way to the postings area, which is slightly less packed than usual. (So, it's still comparable to a mosh pit. Lexa glares at more than one person after they shove past Clarke.)

Standing in front of the PF list, they both quickly scan it.

"Fuck my life. Fuck everything. I wish for the sweet sweet release of death."

"Chill, Lexa. At least we aren't up against Azgeda…" Because of their early debate with Roan and Ontari, they recognize the Azgeda speaker code. Thankfully, they haven't had to debate any of the dicks from that school again.

"I think that HH is Mount Weather."

"So, we will have an easy octofinal round. We'll move onto quarterfinals, and then it doesn't matter if we win or lose, we'll be guaranteed to place."

"But I wanna sleep."

"On me or with me?"

"Shut your mouth. We have a debate to get to, Lex."

"Sadly."

—

"I hate everything."

"It wasn't that bad, Lex. You did so good. I'm so proud of you."

"No, I totally screwed it up! Oh my god, I ruined it." Lexa stands with her forehead against the wall, groaning loudly. Following their debate with the Mount Weather kids, they had found a quiet, out of the way corner to talk.

Clarke sighs quietly, moving to stand behind Lexa. She wraps her arms around Lexa's waist, resting her chin on her partner's shoulder.

Clarke places a gentle kiss on the spot where Lexa's jaw and neck meet. "Baby," she murmurs against smooth skin. "You were so good. You crushed that stupid kid with his awful haircut and that name. Who names their kid Cage?"

"Dante Wallace."

"…oh. Well, who cares. Just because his dad is some big shot coach doesn't mean anything."

"It means everything. Clarke, I'm so sorry. I messed up."

"Shh," Clarke whispers, pressing another kiss to Lexa's neck. "They'll post really soon and when we see that we have a quarterfinals round, I'll be able to say I told you so. Turn around, baby."

Lexa does as Clarke says, turning in her arms. She's staring at the ground, but Clarke can see that her expression is apologetic and crestfallen.

Clarke lifts her chin, connecting their lips in a sweet kiss. Lexa melts into it, much like Clarke had melted into their kiss earlier.

They eventually part from the kiss, pressing their foreheads together. "It's okay. We are doing absolutely great. Kane was right, we are benefiting from this partnership."

Lexa snorts, her face growing slightly red. "Partners with benefits, huh?"

"Something like that," Clarke replies, shrugging. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes, god yes." Lexa thinks it's cute that Clarke asks, smiling as she leans forward to capture Clarke's lips with her own. Consent is sexy, after all.

Being more conscious about their time, they only kiss for a few moments before reluctantly pulling apart. They make their way back to the cafeteria so they'll know right away when postings are up.

They sit at the same place they did before, although neither of them are in the mood to do any more homework.

So they quietly sit together, Clarke scrolling through her phone as Lexa half listens to the conversation that Monty and Jasper are currently having.

And when a coach yells postings at the top of his lungs, they both sigh but get up anyway. They make their way to the lists, finding the public forum one.

They're proud, yet somewhat annoyed when they find their speaker codes. They aren't up against Azgeda again, which is great. However, three of the eight teams that broke to quarterfinals are from Azgeda.

Clarke and Lexa make their way to their room, waiting outside for the three judges to show and for hell to begin for the seventh time.

—

They make it all the way to semifinals before they lose. They were up against Azgeda, through, so the loss was understandable.

As it turns out, Azgeda won all of the semifinal rounds in all of the forms of debate, so there was no need for a finals round. Teams from the same school cannot compete against each other, so debate is done for the day.

Everyone is waiting for speech rounds to be done, then they'll move straight on to the awards ceremony.

Clarke and Lexa are both asleep at the Polis table, slumped against each other. Needless to say, the girls are both exhausted. It's already midnight, and the awards ceremony will take another thirty minutes. They'll get out of here by one o'clock at the earliest, and it's still a two hour bus drive home.

Clarke's head is resting on Lexa's shoulder and Lexa has one arm wound around Clarke's waist, pulling her close.

Harper and Zoe are sitting across from them, giggling quietly and taking pictures of the two to use as teasing material. (In the future, it turns out not to annoy the girls. Rather, they both think it's kind of adorable and Lexa has them send the pictures to her. They both secretly change their phone's home screen to one of the pictures.)

Clarke slowly wakes up, turning her head slightly to look at Lexa. She's still fast asleep, little wisps of her hair escaping from the braids that Clarke had made hours earlier. She studies her partner, smiling sleepily. Lexa really is gorgeous, especially when she's asleep. She looks so content and happy.

Clarke puts her head back down on Lexa's shoulder, cuddling closer into her warm side.

Eventually, they're both woken when Kane softly taps their shoulders. He's smiling, kneeling in front of them. "Wake up, girls. The awards ceremony is about to start and my star debaters need to be up on that stage."

They reluctantly get up from their insanely comfortable spots, both rather proud at the fact that Kane called them stars.

The entire team shuffles to the auditorium, claiming seats that are as close to the exit as possible.

Debate events go first, starting with Lincoln Douglass and novice LD. It goes pretty fast, because everyone wants to leave as soon as possible.

"Novice Lincoln Douglass debate on stage, Public Forum debate on deck," the announcer says. Clarke and Lexa stand up, walking down to the front of the auditorium to stand off to the side.

They hold hands, too tired to even give it a second thought. They wait patiently (sort of) for their event to be called to the stage.

Finally, it is, and the top eight teams take their places on the stage. Clarke and Lexa listen anxiously for their names, their hands still clasped together.

"And in third place, Lexa Woods and Clarke Griffin from Polis High School." The team stands from their spot in the crowd, cheering and clapping. Clarke and Lexa accept their awards, a medal and a certificate. They turn to each other and hug tightly.

"We did good, babe," Lexa whispers in Clarke's ear, her arms securely wrapped around Clarke's waist.

"I told you so."

"You did," Lexa agrees as she pulls back. They start paying attention again just in time to hear the first place winners being announced.

Of course, it's Roan and Ontari from Azgeda High.

It annoys Clarke and Lexa, because Azgeda kids are total assholes. They're also triumphant at their high rank, though.

They leave the stage, and as they walk back to their seats, they get multiple congratulations from teams all around the state.

The entire team is ecstatic, giving the girls high fives and words of congratulations.

Clarke and Lexa try to pay attention to the awards ceremony, but they don't do a very good job. They clap at the necessary times, but they're too wiped out to do much else.

When awards ends, there's a flood of teenagers leaving the auditorium. Keeping up with their reputation, Polis is the first to make it out of the auditorium and onto the bus.

Clarke and Lexa collapse into their seat together, resuming their earlier cuddled up position.

They quickly fall asleep, both of them comfortable and happy. More pictures are taken, but this time Octavia is the one taking them.

Every year, she's tasked with creating the end of the year video, which contains all of the highlights from the season. She speculates that Clarke and Lexa will be appearing quite frequently this year.

They manage to sleep peacefully the entire bus ride back home. As they pull into the school's parking lot, Raven claps her hands next to their heads.

They startle awake, both of them sending Raven dead glares.

They get off of the bus, yawning and stretching.

Kane comes up to them, giving the two girls quick hugs. "I told you this would be a great partnership. Are you two still planning to look for new partners?"

Clarke is the one who answers. "Nah, I think we'll work together a bit longer."

Coach Kane is pleased, leaving them both with a goodbye and another congratulation.

They both quickly call their parents, trying to fight off yawns.

When the phone calls are over, they gravitate back to each other. Clarke drapes her arms around Lexa's shoulders.

"Hi, baby. I'm proud of you."

"I'm proud of you too. You worked so hard, Clarke, and you did amazing." Clarke smiles slowly at the words of praise, which seem to mean so much more when they're coming from Lexa.

"Thank you, Lex. Will you text me when you get home? I'll worry."

"Don't worry, babe. I'll text you, though. Can't stay up, though, we both need to rest and re-energize."

"I know. Gimme a kiss before you have to go."

"We're in front of the entire team."

"I don't care. I expect a goodnight kiss."

Clarke gets her goodnight kiss, ignoring the fact that it's messy and uncoordinated because of their mutual exhaustion. She still thinks it's pretty great.

They pull away, wrapping each other in an embrace instead. After a few minutes, Clarke sadly pulls away.

"My dad's here, baby." Lexa sighs, but nods. "Before I forget… here's your jacket back. Thank you for letting me wear it."

"Of course. Don't forget to text me," Lexa calls as Clarke walks away from her. She looks back over her shoulder and smiles, waving quickly.

When Clarke gets back home, she quickly undresses, collapsing into her bed.

She grabs her phone, typing out a message.

 **Clarke Griffer (3:47 AM)- I'm home. You better get home safe. I'm so so tired so I'll probably sleep until Sunday night. Get some sleep, baby. Sweet dreams. (I know that you'll make an appearance in my dreams.)**

She doesn't wait for a reply, closing her eyes and slipping off to sleep almost as soon as the message is sent.


	2. Chapter Two- Into Azgeda: Part One

Chapter Two

"Babe, babe. Wait just a sec- oh." Lexa gasps, her eyes slamming shut. Clarke's lips at her neck quickly took precedence over whatever she had been about to say.

She's only able to focus when Clarke pulls back slightly, running her thumb over the spot she had been kissing.

"Clarke. Babe, we should really start studying. You know how hard Sinclair's tests are." The girls are in Clarke's room, on her bed. Clarke rolls her eyes, sitting back. Of course, she's on top of Lexa, so sitting back is kind of just straddling her.

Lexa sits up, wrapping an arm around Clarke's waist. "Clarke, stop pouting. We just have to study for a little bit, then we can get back to this."

"Only if you promise that we can continue later," Clarke says, crossing her arms. Lexa smiles, kissing the tip of Clarke's nose gently.

"Yes, of course we can. Time to move your ass, now." Clarke gets off of Lexa, grabbing their backpacks from the floor. She hands Lexa hers.

They find their chemistry books, flipping to the page that the chapter starts on.

"Wait, Lex. I have an idea."

Lexa raises one eyebrow at Clarke, nodding slightly. "Okay. What is this idea?"

"You made flash cards from the study guide, right?"

"Of course I did. I always make flash cards, you know that." She grabs her backpack again, finding her binder. She flips it open, grabbing her stack of flash cards from the front pocket.

She hands them to Clarke, who takes the rubber band off and flips through the cards. "Perfect. Ready to hear my idea?"

"Of course." She leans back on her hand, watching as Clarke points the stack of cards at her.

"Okay. We each take half of the stack," Clarke starts, shuffling the cards before she splits it in half and hands one half to Lexa. "And we quiz each other."

"Okay, so your idea is using my notecards instead of reading through the chapter?" Lexa chuckles, flipping one of her cards to the back to look at the answer.

Clarke points her cards back at Lexa. "And that is where the special Clarke twist comes in. Strip study."

"As in you want to take your clothes off?"

"As in, if one of us gets a question wrong, we take a piece of clothing off."

Lexa stares at Clarke for a moment, before shaking her head with a grin on her face. "Yeah, sure. I'll have you know that I've gone over these cards, like, ten times in the past three days. You're going to lose."

"We'll just have to see about that."

—

Thirty minutes later, the girls have gone through the cards and Clarke is sitting there in her underwear. Lexa is still fully dressed.

"I told you, Clarke. By the way, cute bra."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. You wanna go over the cards you got wrong?"

Clarke shrugs. "Not really. There are much better things that we could be doing. I am, like, already mostly naked."

Lexa rolls her eyes, placing her hand on the back of Clarke's neck. "You are insatiable." She pulls her hand back, standing from the bed. "C'mon, put your clothes back on."

"What? Where are you going? Are you telling me that I had to do all this chemistry crap for no reason?"

"There was a reason. We have to study for the test. Now let's go, we're going out."

"Out?"

"Yes, out. It's Saturday, we're together, and it's going to be one of the last nice days of the year. It's November and we have some time to relax, which we should take." Lexa grabs Clarke's hands, pulling her up. She wraps her arms around Clarke's waist, swaying them to the quiet music playing from Clarke's phone.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could go get some lunch," Lexa suggest, spinning Clarke around so her back is to Lexa's front. She rests her chin on Clarke's shoulder, kissing her jaw softly. "What do you think?"

"I think that sounds great, baby. I also think that it sounds an awful lot like you're trying to take me on a date, Lexa Woods."

"And if I am, what would you say?"

"I'd say that I would love to go on a date with you."

"Perfect. Let's go then, shall we?"

—

The girls sit across from each other in a small café, Lexa sipping at a cup of tea.

"So, Clarke, tell me about yourself."

"Baby, we've known each other for two years.

"And you hated me during those two years. We talked about three times throughout those two years. I may know a bit about you, but I really don't know very much."

Clarke stirs her coffee, adding a bit more cream to it. "I see your point. First, tell me what you know about me already."

"You like your coffee with just a little bit of sugar and a lot of cream. In the morning you either eat waffles- they have to be blueberry, and they have to be drowning in syrup- or Fruit Loops. For someone who eats so poorly, you're incredibly fit. And that's because you get up early and go for a run."

"You do too. I'd always go in the opposite direction from you because I didn't want to look at you. Although, you'd always be out longer than me."

"True. Hey, maybe now we can go running together in the mornings during tournaments. Unless you wanna keep acting like you hate me around the team."

"We kissed each other in front of them after Icebreakers. And I've been, like, nice to you around school. We've been talking, and not just when we're working. Kane knows for sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Kane is always in the debate room. Whenever you're being all smiley and giving me those heart eyes, he notices."

"I am not the one with the heart eyes! The way you look at me is so sickeningly sweet. About as sweet as those damn waffles you eat."

"You're a complete bitch, Lex." Clarke rolls her eyes, looking down at her menu. "Oh, hey, look. They have all day breakfast. And blueberry waffles!"

"Oh, really?" Lexa leans over to look at where Clarke is pointing. "You get that, you'll die a sugary death."  
Clarke chuckles, closing her menu. (Lexa had decided what she wants five minutes ago. Clarke just got distracted from looking at the menu. By Lexa, of course.)

Their order is taken a few moments later. Lexa nudges Clarke's foot under the table with her own. "So, next week. Are you excited?"

"God, no. We're going to Azgeda, Lex. That entire trip is going to be a soul-sucking pit of despair."

Lexa scoffs, leaning back in her chair. "You're the biggest drama queen I have ever met. It won't be that bad. I know it's in Azgeda, but that doesn't mean we'll debate against a ton of Azgeda kids. Besides, we'll get to sleep in the same bed."

"Do you really think they'll room us together?"

"They always room partners together, Clarke. Well, partners of the same gender. You know what I mean."

"Even if those partners are…"

"Dating?" They still had yet to label their relationship, but they both know that they like each other. Quite a lot, to be honest.

Clarke nods. "Yeah. I mean, if dating sounds good to you." Lexa nods. "I don't think that they would keep us together in a room if they know that something's going on. Kane knows, and he handles the room assignments."

"Dude, Kane is our biggest fan. I'm pretty sure he forced us to partner so we would talk to each other and realize that we have absolutely terrific chemistry together. Besides, it's not like we could get pregnant together."

"You make a fair point, but I still think they'll split us up."

Lexa shakes her head. "I disagree. Also, we wouldn't be able to do anything. We'll be roomed with two other girls who will be in the room almost every minute that we are."

Their food comes and Clarke pours a massive amount of syrup over her waffles before continuing the conversation. "We'll just have to see. Your salad looks weird."

Lexa shoots her a confused glance. "Um, it looks like a pile of lettuce and various vegetables. And chicken. What's weird about it?"

"Everything that you just said. It's too healthy."

"It's not too healthy, you just eat like a four year old with a bad sweet tooth."

Clarke laughs, stabbing a piece of waffle and holding it out to Lexa. "It has blueberries, therefore, it is healthy. And I'll have you know that I refused to eat stuff that was really sugary until I was, like, seven."

"Ah, mom and dad Griffin were spared the cranky five year old coming off of a sugar high. I was never super sugar obsessed either, but Aden was always really bad. He still is."

"Is Aden anything like you?"

Lexa shrugs. "Well, not really. Some of the ways we act are the same, because we grew up together in the same house, but we were both adopted, so we don't look alike or anything."

"I had no idea that you were adopted."

"Yeah, most people don't. I was adopted when I was really, really young, about three years old. I don't remember anything about my birth parents. Indra and Gustus raised me and loved me. They're my mother and father even if we aren't related by blood."

Clarke watches Lexa speak, smiling softly at her.

"What's with the heart eyes, Griff?"

"You're just really adorable. I'm kinda lucky that Kane insisted that we partner up."

Lexa smiles shyly, gazing down at the table. "I'm not adorable."

Clarke rolls her eyes before reaching over to take one of Lexa's hands. "Lexa, baby, I know you think you're all scary and intimidating or whatever, but you're really a giant softie. It's pretty cute."

"They don't call me the Commander because I'm a softie, Clarke. I'm not cute or adorable. I am a badass."

Oh right, the infamous Commander nickname. "Lex, I'm sorry to break it to you, but Anya started calling you that as a joke." The nickname started during their freshman year, when Lexa was so unsure of everything she was doing. She would worry for hours about whether she was ready to compete or not, so the captain that year, Anya, took to calling her the Commander.

"It wasn't a joke! Anya said that I had to think like a commander to be confident in myself and my abilities."

Although Lexa was worried about her chance at success, she always did fairly well. Clarke never managed to compete very well, up until later in their sophomore year. She was perpetually jealous over how good Lexa is at everything.

"It was kind of a joke, baby. She called you that because of how much you worried. You were really the opposite of a commander."

Lexa crosses her arms, glaring at Clarke. "And you say that I'm the annoying one. My nickname is totally cool."

"Oh my god, Lex. I thought I was the drama queen. Yes, your nickname is cool. Now finish your health bowl."

They finish their lunches and pay before leaving.

"Where to next, Lex?" Clarke asks, grabbing Lexa's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"Next is… I don't know. Let's just walk a bit. I didn't have a date all planned out. It was a spur of the moment kinda thing."

"We could get matching tattoos. On our necks, probably." Clarke points at a tattoo shop, grinning.

"Or we could not do that. You don't seem like someone who would get a neck tattoo." Lexa laughs, pulling them away from the tattoo place.

"Do you want any tattoos, Lex?"

"I would love some. My dad does tattoos sometimes and he said that he'll give me one when I turn seventeen."

"When's your birthday?"

"July. Your birthday is in October, right?"

"Yeah, it was just before the tournament. When I still hated you, so it's okay that you didn't get me a gift."

"I wholeheartedly apologize. I'll make it up to you next year."

"I'll be expecting something that is truly extravagant. Last year the tournament was on my birthday, so that really sucked."

Lexa hums softly, nodding. "That would be terrible. Hey, at least you got Dairy Queen for your birthday dinner."

"That cashier was so pissed at us."

"Hey, it's not our fault that Mount Weather came with their big-ass team. We were there first. She had no reason to be so passive-aggressive towards us."

"She kinda did. Remember, she was bitchy to Anya, so we all placed really complicated orders. We were dicks."

"Oh, right. Reyes kept going up to her to complain that stuff wasn't right or she didn't get part of her order. She conned her way into a free sundae."

Clarke laughs, recalling her best friend's look of satisfaction when she came back to their table with her ice cream.

"I'm still convinced that the cashier gave the sundae to Raven so she would fuck off."

"Definitely. Raven can be extremely manipulative sometimes."

"Baby, you've met yourself, right? You've met me? Our entire event is about manipulating people into getting them to say what you want them to. If you think that Raven is manipulative, you need to pay more attention in our debates."

Lexa shrugs, pointing at a dog with his front paws on the fence, barking excitedly. "Look, dog. And everything you said is very true. But I don't manipulate my way into free ice cream."

They stop to pet the dog, who is completely overjoyed and licks their hands as much as he can. "You manipulated your way into making me like you."

"I literally did not do anything. You just realized that I'm hot and that you want to kiss me all the time."

Clarke, rolls her eyes, patting the dog's head one last time before they move on. "I always knew that you were hot."

"Of course you did. I do, after all, have arms like a Greek goddess."

"Oh my god, did Raven tell you that I said that? I was exhausted, I didn't know what I was saying!"

"She might have told me, she might not have. I know you like my arms anyway. And other things, but we can talk about that later. Let's focus on how much you appreciate it when I wear button ups and push the sleeves up."

"I can't stand you."

"We both know that's not true."

—

Clarke takes the paper cup from her girlfriend's hand, sipping at the coffee gratefully. "Finally. Oh, I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Clarke, but we did talk to each other before we went to sleep last night." Lexa grins, setting her suitcase down next to Clarke's.

Clarke pushes at her shoulder before returning her attention to her coffee cup. "I wasn't talking to you, Woods. I was talking to this sweet, sweet caffeine that will keep me running for the next few hours."

"Aw, so you didn't miss me?" Lexa pouts at Clarke, slinging an arm across her shoulder to pull her closer. "Because I missed you quite a lot. It was unfair to hang up on me the way you did yesterday."

"Fine, I missed you too." Clarke smiles, planting a kiss on Lexa's cheek. "Thank you for the coffee. Although, I do continue to believe that hanging up on you yesterday was completely fair."

"But it was just getting good, babe."

Clarke sips at her coffee again, refraining from rolling her eyes at Lexa. "You only like me because I watch Netflix when we FaceTime."

"You have really good taste in shows and I don't have Netflix. C'mon, you hung up on me right when it was getting interesting."

"I'm sorry. We can have a Netflix date sometime soon, okay?"

"Knowing you, that Netflix date will quickly turn into Netflix and chill," Lexa scoffs.

"That is so not true! It'll just be us, cuddling on the couch with snacks. No chilling required."

"You're constantly trying to get into my pants. I have never met someone with a higher sex drive than you."

"Can you blame me? You're gorgeous. And those abs…" Clarke trails off, pressing her hand into Lexa's stomach.

It's at this moment that Raven arrives at the school and comes practically sprinting over to her friends. "Are we talking about sex right now? Clarke has her 'fuck me good, Commander,' eyes on."

"I don't have fuck me eyes!"

"Yeah, babe, you do. Yes, Raven, we were talking about Clarke's unstoppable sex drive."

"Alright, that's great. Have you had sex yet?" Raven points between the two of them, eyes wide and flicking between the two girls.

"No, we haven't. You seem to be very interested in our sex lives, Reyes."

"I am, Woods! You guys gotta get it on soon before I lose fifty bucks to Octavia."

"You and Octavia bet on when Lexa and I would have sex?" Clarke asks. Raven laughs, nodding.

"Of course we did, Clarke. I said that you would do the do before winter break, but Octavia got a bit more specific. She said March. Hey look, the bus is here."

Clarke and Lexa share a glance, shaking their heads at their friend's antics. "Baby, which one of my friends do you like better?"

"I like them both, but I don't think that Octavia will win. March is pretty far away, and you already try to fuck me whenever you see me. I think that Raven is getting the fifty dollars."

"Is that a roundabout way of saying that you want to have sex with me before the year ends? Because I am down with that." The bus pulls up to the curb and the driver gets out, introducing himself and opening the bottom compartments for their bags.

"No, it is not." Lexa shakes her head at Clarke, lifting her suitcase into the bottom of the bus.

"I'm pretty sure it is. Put my suitcase under there too."

Lexa takes Clarke's suitcase, putting it next to hers. "Bossy much? You can lift it yourself. Don't try to say you can't."

"Thank you. Hey, you wouldn't have actually done it if you didn't want to. I'm not saying that I can't lift it, I'm just saying that I like how your godly arms look when you lift things."

Lexa scoffs as they make their way onto the bus, finding a seat near the back of the bus. Clarke sits next to the window, Lexa sliding in next to her.

"You should see me when I'm at the gym. Although I'm not sure you would be able to keep it in your pants." Lexa pats Clarke's knee, smiling sweetly.

"Probably wouldn't be able to. It's cold in here." Clarke whines, tugging Lexa's arm around her shoulder.

Lexa rubs Clarke's arm, planting a kiss to the side of her head. "I know that's code for 'baby, give me your hoodie.'"

"It might be. But you're always so warm, too. Maybe I just wanna sleep on you for the entire bus ride."

"Take my hoodie, babe," Lexa pulls her jacket off, handing it to Clarke. She puts it on happily, snuggling back into Lexa after it's on.

"Aw, you're letting me wear your jacket and sleep on you? What a good girlfriend."

Lexa chuckles, wrapping her arm back around her girlfriend. "I strive for that. Seems weird that Jaha and Kane aren't already here. Seems weird that you've been here before me twice now. You were usually the last one on the bus freshman and sophomore year."

"Well, now I have something to look forward to when I get here." Clarke runs her fingers down Lexa's arm slowly, smirking at her.

"Very cute." Lexa kisses Clarke's cheek. "Oh look, the coaches are here. Better be on your best behavior. Gotta stop giving me the fuck me eyes."

"You need to stop talking to Raven. She tells you too many things that are completely untrue."

"You mean she tells me what you say about me. Oh, like that one time she said that you only did weights your sophomore year because you knew that I was doing weights."

"I was doing weights for myself. You know, I gotta take care of my body. Make sure that my muscles are in good shape and all that. The fact that you were there was just a little added bonus."

"Was that another example of your love for how my arms look when I lift things?"

"Of course. To be honest, you in workout clothes is just… it's good."

Lexa chuckles, watching as the last few kids climb onto the bus. "If you want me to dress in workout clothes you just have to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind," Clarke replies just as Jaha stands to address the team.

He takes role quickly, pleased to find that everyone is accounted for. "Alright, team, when we get there we'll grab lunch. We have some extra time, so you get some mall time before we have to go to the hotel." Excited murmuring and even a few cheers break out at the promise of mall time.

"Hey, we can go shopping together," Clarke says, tugging at the sleeve of the button up that Lexa has on.

"Maybe I could get you into something plaid."

"Is that something that you would like, Lexa?"

"You'd look cute. You always look cute, though," Lexa adds just for good measure.

"Aw, very sweet. You look cute all the time too. Maybe we can look for some suspenders to complete your whole nerd look."

Lexa looks completely offended. "What are you talking about? I don't have a nerd look. You're making things up now."

"No I'm not. Baby, I can guarantee that you have a bow tie in your suitcase right now. You're going to give me your suit jacket when we change into our competition clothes because you think I look cute in it. I just want to complete the look with some suspenders."

"I'm not a nerd."

"You have the glasses, you're in all advanced classes, you're in debate. Oh, and let's not forget that you participate in the youth government program every year."

Lexa pulls her arm away from Clarke's shoulder, scooting away from her slightly. "The glasses do not make me a nerd. Seeing clearly is not nerdy."

Clarke grabs one of Lexa's hands, tugging it into her lap. "The whole nerd thing is kind of hot, you know. We don't have to get the suspenders, I just want you to try them on."

"Fine. I'll try some suspenders on for you. Only if you apologize for calling my glasses nerdy." Clarke smiles, pressing a soft kiss to Lexa's cheek.

"I'm sorry, baby. I really am. Now, come here." Clarke holds her arm out, inviting Lexa to curl into her side. She gives Clarke a long look before scooting close to her once again. She wraps her arm around Clarke's waist and settles her head on Clarke's shoulder.

"You're forgiven. I'll try on some suspenders."

"I'm excited," Clarke whispers, pressing a tender kiss to the top of Lexa's head. "It's way too early to be awake."

Lexa hums in agreement, sounding just as tired as Clarke does. "Take a nap. The bus ride is a couple of hours long, so you should be able to get some rest."

She tries to fight back a yawn, her new and extremely comfortable position leaned on Clarke making her realize just how tired she also is.

"You get some sleep too, baby. We need to be rested for the competition or... whatever." Clarke trails off, leaning her head against Lexa's. The blonde's eyes fall shut and she falls asleep just a few moments later.

Raven takes it upon herself to wake the sleeping couple when they arrive at the restaurant for lunch. The way she deems appropriate to wake them is to lean over them and yell 'the British are coming' as loud as she can.

Lexa startles awake, instinctively curling her hand into a fist and swinging at Raven.

"Christ, Woods! You trying to kill me?"

Lexa sits up straight, sliding her hands down her face. "Raven. Ugh, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. You didn't get me. The hell was that?"

"Sorry, my little brother wakes me up by yelling in my face all the time. It was just, like, second nature. What the hell was with the... the British thing?"

"It just felt right. Good morning, sleeping beauty," Raven says, looking behind Lexa at Clarke. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Screw off, Reyes." Clarke stretches out, sighing heavily. "Are we here?"

"Yeah, we're here. Get out of the way, Raven." Raven waves at them before walking down the aisle and out of the bus.

"I'm still so tired," Clarke whines, reluctantly standing up. She follows Lexa out of the bus and they join the rest of the team inside of the restaurant.

They end up sitting with Raven and Octavia again. "So, guys, did you enjoy Raven's little wake up call?"

"Octavia, please tell your girlfriend that she's a horrible person and I'm not talking to her until Monday," Clarke replies, smiling sweetly at Octavia.

"I already almost punched her in the face, babe," Lexa says, grinning.

Octavia pats Raven's shoulder, who is giggling at the grumpy look on Clarke's face.

"Clarke, let's be real. You would have been even grumpier if you didn't get to eat. In the long run, it's a good thing that I woke you up. Lexa isn't complaining. Well, she tried to punch me, yes, but she isn't complaining."

Clarke rolls her eyes, ignoring Raven in favor of looking over the menu. The waiter comes and takes their orders, which include blueberry waffles and a garden salad.

"By the way, Clarke, what was wrong at the last tournament? At lunch, when you looked, like, sick. It was during lunch."

Clarke's face grows red as she tries to stammer out an answer. "Well, you see... I was just, um... a bit nervous, I guess. You know how hard it can be when you have a new partner and everything."

Raven snickers, leaning over to whisper in Octavia's ear. She listens, slowly nodding. When Raven is done whispering to her, she nods one last time. "Oooh. I see."

"What? What did she tell you? Octavia, what did she say?" Clarke leans over the table, shooting a glare at Raven.

Octavia shrugs, sharing glance with her girlfriend. "Oh, nothing. Just that you two were figuring out your whole relationship thing around that time. And that Lexa was teasing you."

Clarke grows redder, if that's even possible. "What? No, that's not true. Raven has a really bad problem with saying things that aren't always a hundred percent true. I'm not sure that we can really trust anything that she says."

guys were sitting right across from us, too," Lexa says, her face also beginning to turn red.

Raven nods, a smirk on her face. "Right, right. So please explain why Clarke kept looking down at her leg and when you two came back from the bathroom, you looked like you were about to fuck Clarke on the table?"

"What is with you and us having sex?" Clarke grumbles, looking everywhere that isn't Raven.

"Just answer the question, Griff."

"First of all, fuck you."

"Okay, fine, yes. I was teasing Clarke. Can we please actually like mature adults now?" Lexa admits after a few minutes of stares from both Raven and Octavia.

The two other girls erupt into laughter as Clarke and Lexa both pout. Lexa swirls the ice cubes in her water, looking like she wants the ground to swallow her up.

Once the laughter has calmed down, Raven leans over the table to draw their attention back to her. "Now, I'm all for this relationship. Please just tell me that you used protection when you ran off to the bathroom for your sexcapades."

Clarke has to resist the temptation to flip Raven off. Lexa has to resist the temptation to hide underneath the table and never come out.

The girls ignore Raven and Octavia to the best of their abilities as lunch drags on. Clarke aggressively stabs at her waffles while her girlfriend pushes her salad around her plate, still pouting.

The blonde leans into Lexa, whispering into her ear. "Eat, Lex. Ignore them. You have to eat something."

Debate may not seem all that physically demanding, but it's surprising how much it takes out of a person. Staying hydrated and making sure you've had enough to eat is incredibly important to make sure you don't end up collapsing.

Lexa sighs, although she actually starts eating now. She occasionally shoots glares across the table, Raven and Octavia snickering every time.

It's a relief when they leave the restaurant and climb back onto the bus. The wonder twins sat further back, so Clarke and Lexa won't have to deal with them. (For a few minutes, anyway.)

Their next stop is the mall. Now, even though Azgeda is a literal hell pit and it physically pains Clarke to be there, the mall is pretty cool. It's got quite a few more stores than the one in Polis. (And really good ice cream, which is all Clarke is currently interested in. That and suspenders.)

It's only a short ride from the restaurant to the mall. During this time, Clarke drums on Lexa's arm with her fingers to the beat of some song in her head.

Lexa watches her with an amused look on her face. "Having fun there?"

"Absolutely. I'm spending time with my girl, about to force her to try on various types of clothing. We get to sleep together tonight. Spend all our time together today and tomorrow. We'll be suffering, but we'll be together."

"One, we've slept together before, two, we spend a lot of our time together already, and three, stop with the suffering thing. Azgeda isn't that bad."

"Yes it is. This is the worst place on earth and I'm probably going to have a completely terrible time."

Lexa stares at her girlfriend for a long moment. "All of this back and forth is going to give me whiplash. Make up your mind; are you in a good mood or not?"

Clarke just shrugs as they pull into the mall's parking lot. Kane stands and announces that they'll have an hour to wander before they have to be back on the bus. Everyone excitedly makes their way off of the bus, chatting happily.

Raven and Octavia end up tagging along with Clarke and Lexa, of course. Thankfully, they seem to have gotten past the whole… well, let's not get back into that.

Raven ends up dragging the other three girls into a sporting goods store, temporarily derailing their shopping plans.

"Ray, you don't even like sports. What are we doing in here?" Octavia whines, tugging at her girlfriend's hand. "The last time you played a sport you called it bullshit and then kicked a wall."

"Well, you learn new things every day," Lexa murmurs, pulling Clarke over to a display of hiking backpacks. "When did she kick that wall in protest of sports?"

"Fifth grade. She got upset because she missed the basket when we were playing basketball. She did break her ankle kicking that wall, so…" Clarke trails off, chucking at the memory of her best friend's overreaction.

Lexa picks up one of the bags, unzipping it and doing a thorough inspection. "To be fair, I never liked basketball either. Although I didn't quite take it that far. I just didn't participate."

"Raven has always had a flare for the dramatic. Do you need a hiking bag?" Lexa shakes her head, returning the backpack to the display.

"Nope. The one I have is perfectly fine, I was just looking. Do you want to ditch thing one and thing two?" The girls look over to where Octavia is still whining at Raven, who has a basketball in her hands.

Clarke pulls Lexa out of the store as fast as she possibly can. "God, yes. I don't want to see what traumatic event will eventually go down in there."

The couple finds a store to browse around in, Lexa dragging Clarke over to the flannel shirts almost immediately. She pulls a red plaid shirt out, handing it to her girlfriend.

"Here. Classic. Go put it on and let me see when you're done." Lexa gives the shorter girl a gentle push towards the changing rooms. While Clarke is trying the shirt on, Lexa flips through the others.

She takes a few more shirts that she thinks Clarke will look good in down, turning when there's a sudden tap on her shoulder.

Lexa looks her girlfriend up and down appreciatively, grinning. The shirt is a little too big for Clarke, prompting her to turn the sleeves up.

"You look absolutely adorable," Lexa says. She grabs Clarke's hands, pulling her closer. Lexa straightens out the shirt's collar, lightly dragging her fingertips over the exposed skin of her collarbone.

"I look like you," Clarke teases, tugging at the sleeve of Lexa's shirt.

"Except blonde and with really nice boobs." Lexa says.

"You have such a way with words, Lex." Clarke laughs. Lexa leans down and presses a soft kiss to Clarke's cheek.

"I know I do. You should get that shirt."

"Let me go get changed," Clarke says, leaving Lexa with a peck to the lips.

—

Clarke ends up getting the shirt, mostly because of Lexa's pleading puppy dog eyes. She spins the bag in one hand, the other hand holding Lexa's.

"Hot Topic will have suspenders, right?" Clarke asks, tugging her girlfriend towards the store.

Lexa shakes her head, refusing to move. "If you think that I'm going in that godforsaken store, you're wrong."

Clarke snorts, tugging at the taller girl's hand. "Is this because of your emo phase in freshman year? Has Hot Topic traumatized you?"

"It was not an emo phase! Everyone needs to stop saying that." Lexa pulls her hand away from Clarke's, crossing her arms grumpily.

It was most definitely an emo phase. She went all out, really, wearing all black and ripped jeans. She even dyed her hair black for a while.

"Babe, I'm sorry, but that was one of the worst emo phases I've ever seen. The eye makeup… You looked like a raccoon for months."

Lexa pouts, pointedly looking away from the blonde girl standing in front of her. "Screw off, Griffin."

"Hey, it's not like we'll be shopping for My Chemical Romance shirts. Just nerdy suspenders. Come on, please?"

The brunette sighs after a moment of Clarke staring at her with puppy dog eyes. "Fine. If I have a nightmare tonight, it's all your fault."

Lexa is still pouting, but she follows Clarke into the store. She winces at the loud punk rock music coming from the filters and the display of dark makeup. Clarke wanders slowly around the store just to torture her girlfriend a little bit.

The pair finally finds a few pairs of suspenders. Clarke grins as she sees that one pair has a cheery rainbow pattern. "Look at this! It really fits your personality, babe." Clarke holds them up, nodding slowly.

Lexa narrows her eyes at the shorter girl, pointedly picking up a pair of plain black suspenders. She clips them onto her pants, holding her arms out once done.

"Mhm. Just as I thought. You look super nerdy. But in a really good, really sexy way." Clarke leans forward to kiss Lexa quickly. "These would go great with your suit."

They get the suspenders, and Lexa leaves the store as quickly as she possibly can.

—

They go straight to the hotel after they leave the mall. Jaha instructs them to grab their bags and wait in the lobby for their room assignments.

Lexa takes Clarke's bag without even being asked, making her way into the hotel. "You really don't have to carry my suitcase, baby."

"I know," Lexa says, setting both suitcases down once they're inside. "I feel sort of bad for being snappy earlier in the mall."

"Aww, baby. Don't worry about it. I was teasing you, after all. Thank you." Clarke wraps an arm securely around her girlfriend's waist. Lexa smiles softly, pressing a kiss to the tip of Clarke's head.

Kane and Jaha get the key cards from the front desk staff and call out room numbers and names.

"Reyes, Blake, Woods, and Griffin. Room 307," Kane says. He hands Lexa the key cards, fixing all four of them with narrowed eyes. "Lights out is at 11:30. No funny business from any of you, alright?"

They all murmur affirmative answers before he seems satisfied, sending them off to their room.

The four girls get into their room and Raven immediately jumps onto the bed closest to the window to claim it.

Shaking her head at her friend's antics, Clarke unzips her suitcase to find her competition clothes. They all get changed and three of them- minus Lexa- apply makeup.

"You ready for this, Clarke?" Lexa asks as they walk down the hallway, hand in hand.

"Nope," she replies, squeezing her girlfriend's hand gently. "I'm going to hate every moment of this. At least you'll be there to suffer with me."


End file.
